It's time to get rid of the raccoons

Hunting season allows outdoor types to bag a pelt

Nov. 12, 2013

Written by

Dick Martin

CentralOhio.com

The hunting and trapping season for raccoons opened Sunday, Nov. 10 and will continue for months.

And fur prices for these little masked predators is a little better than usual. Exact prices are tough to predict since small raccoons will be worth much less than large ones. Pelts on the carcass will be less than those skinned, scraped, stretched and dried, and prime fur more than those that are not.

But prices will be worthwhile and that’s one good reason to do some raccoon hunting or trapping this fall. It can provide Christmas money or buy dog food, equipment, and other necessities.

Money is only one reason why we need to seek coons this year. Another is that for a number of years they’ve been only lightly thinned by a diminishing number of hunters and trappers.

Drive any country road and most of the highways and you’ll find raccoon road kills everywhere. There are untold numbers more in area woodlots feasting on everything from field corn to family pet food bowls.

I talked to one man last year who trapped a three-acre woodlot and took 18 raccoons from that small area. The corn on two sides looked like elephants had trampled it for 30 yards out into the field. So, getting rid of those 18 raccoons will save the farmer a substantial sum of money next year — unless another 18 move in to take their place.

They’re coming into villages, towns, and cities too. They roam streets at night looking for garbage cans and pet food. They take up residence in unused chimneys, attics, and garages. So nuisance complaints are up and county wildlife officers get more calls wanting the phone numbers of predator control people.

If their numbers continue to grow, disease (already starting to appear), is going to become rampant, and some types can effect people and pets as well as other raccoons and wild animals.

There’s still one more reason to seek these wily creatures — hunting them can be a truly exciting pastime. In my younger days I looked forward to raccoon season more than any other, and spent plenty of preseason days scouting for new woodlots and knocking on doors for permission.

I hunted with two old timers, one of whom favored mountain curs, and another who did his night-time walking with a mixed breed named Bullet. We’d head out to the first woodlot at dusk, release a dog or two, fire up little lanterns and start a slow and casual walk through the shadowy timber.

Often enough, it’d be cool and crisp with ice crunching on the puddles, a faint scent of dead leaves and fox grapes, and on really clear nights, the Milky Way overhead shining like a constellation of diamonds.

Eventually, we’d hear that first hesitant chop, then a little more eager barking before the dog hit a hot track and opened with a full-throated trail bark that would put the hair up on the back of my neck.

With luck the animal would tree in something lacking a den, then it was time to shine strong flashlights along the branches until we saw a pair of red eyes, make our shot, and drop the raccoon.

There were plenty of memorable situations during those nights. Like the one when Bullet jumped a big raccoon in a cornfield, and we raced that way to prevent injury. I hit an unseen three strand wire fence, flipped completely over, fell six feet into a shallow stream and lay there gasping.

“You OK?” My partner asked.

Windless, I nodded, “OK.”

And he was gone to help the dog.

It’s a good sport with lively action. Any sporting goods store, especially rural ones, can put you in touch with coon hunters who might allow you along, sell you a dog, or offer good advice.

Attending a field trial is a good option too, and somewhere down the line you’re likely to decide you like this night-time activity. Fair money, lots of action, and a chance to thin raccoons are three good reasons to try.

Dick Martin is a retired Shelby biology teacher who has written an outdoor column for more than 20 years. He can be reached at richmart@neo.rr.com.